Educational Beliefs of Higher Education Teachers and Students: Implications for Teacher Education

Abstract

Abstract: This paper begins by acknowledging the established and powerful link between educational beliefs and the teaching and learning practices of teaches and students. Based on this belief-practice connection, the paper documents the findings of a study that investigated the beliefs of a group of higher education teachers and students, most of whom were teaching and learning in a teacher education context. The paper concludes with a set of practical suggestions for university teachers and students involved in teacher education courses. The suggestions have been constructed by considering the messages from past literature and by drawing on the findings of the study reported in this paper. These recommended practical applications are expressed in terms of how they have been applied to a specific teacher education context. Introduction All teachers and students hold a range of beliefs – whether they are beliefs about religion, education, health, politics or a multitude of other topics. When combined, teachers’ and students’ beliefs about teaching and learning are often referred to as educational beliefs. Educational beliefs have been investigated for their application in practical teaching and learning situations. The articulation and application of these beliefs has been the focus of many educational research studies in past years, although many of these studies have investigated teachers’ beliefs separately from students’ beliefs. Nevertheless, the results of these studies have implications for teaching and learning practice. Studies of educational beliefs tend to be typified by discussions and debates about how teaching